'Smart Power' Is Clinton's Vow at Hearings

Clinton Foundation and Foreign Donors

As expected, Clinton faced pointed questions during the confirmation hearings about her husband's post-presidential financial ties.

Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., listens as President-elect Barack Obama introduces her as his choice for secretary of state during a press conference at the Hilton Hotel, Dec. 01, 2008, in Chicago, Ill.

(Scott Olson/Getty Images)

The Clinton Foundation has raised hundreds of millions of dollars from some 200,000 private donors -- including the governments of nations with an enormous interest in U.S. policy, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and Brunei.

The names of those donors have been made public, and future donations will also be disclosed, under an agreement reached by the Clintons and the Obama team to clear the way for her nomination. The agreement also requires the State Department to pre-clear future donations from foreign interests.

Lugar, the committee's top Republican, said months ago that he planned to use the hearing to press for more extensive disclosure requirements.

"I suspect ... that I'm not alone in suggesting there will be questions raised and will probably be legitimate," Lugar told ABC's George Stephanopoulos on "This Week" in November.

Before the hearing, Andy Fisher, a Lugar spokesman, said the senator's concerns remained. He pointed out that The New York Times editorial page called for stricter disclosure rules, including review of all foundation donations by the White House counsel's office.

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"It's ripe for potential conflicts of interest, or at least appearance problems. So, every step needs to be taken to make sure there isn't a problem," Fisher said.

"That said, it's not going to be something that's going to be derailing the nomination," he said. "The Senate continues to have a very good relationship with their colleagues, when they're up for nomination."

Those questions aside, the hearings predictably did not produce major fireworks. No roadblocks have emerged to suggest Clinton will have any trouble winning Senate confirmation this week.

"She's a very competent and qualified candidate," said Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., a member of the panel that questioned Clinton. "I've seen her work in the Senate. I've been on the same committees. She's proven herself to be a hard worker and a very competent individual."

In part because Clinton is a colleague who has earned respect from her fellow senators, Republican senators and aides said before the hearing even began that they didn't expect the hearing on her nomination to become an extended referendum on Clinton-era scandals, or on Clinton's extended primary battle with President-elect Barack Obama.

Aides said they didn't expect the hearing to be anywhere near as contentious as Condoleezza Rice's hearing for the same post in 2005. That forum became a proxy battle over the Iraq war, with Democrats pressing her to acknowledge mistakes in the run-up to the conflict.

Kerry has scheduled just one day of hearings for Clinton, with a vote on her nomination expected Thursday.